


Swan into My Heart

by stellacanta



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Swan Lake Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 05:58:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13381617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellacanta/pseuds/stellacanta
Summary: The lake in the middle of the woods had appeared suddenly one day. No one knew how it got there, or where the swans that had inhabited it had come from.





	Swan into My Heart

The lake in the middle of the woods had appeared suddenly one day. No one knew how it got there, or where the swans that had inhabited it had come from. However, everyone agreed that the woods around it became strange after its appearance. Travelers would get lost near its shores, and tell tales of monstrous beasts that guarded its edges.

Then there were the swans. While the swans were content to stay within the boundaries of the lake, rumors spread about how intelligent they seemed. The swan with a half-metal wing was especially strange. Who ever heard of metallic feathers, never mind a whole wing, or half-wing rather, made of them?

There were also the rare whispers of how, when the moon was full on a cloudless night, the lake would seem to glow with a strange magic, and the swans would change form. When the glow disappeared, there were people in the lake instead of swans, one of whom had a metal right arm from the elbow down.

(The whispers were quickly silenced by others. Even to speak of cursed magic was to bring bad luck to those who talked of and listened to it.)

When Prince Keith found himself by the shores of the lake one moonlit night, injured by bandits and chased by monstrous wolves as he had been, he was sure that he would die there alone. The lake was cursed, they said, it was only fitting he’d die there alone. He hadn’t expected the voices from the lake, or for a shirtless man to approach him and gently place a warm hand over the wound. “He’s hurt, but he’ll be okay.” He heard the man call out to the other voices from the lake. “Just have to close the wound first.” He gasped in shock when a bright light surrounded the hand on his side and the bleeding gash. He grunted when he felt the wound stich itself together and the bleeding slow to a stop. The man made a satisfied noise and repeated the process with his other injuries.

“Is it okay for him to be out here though?” The question was asked by a young, feminine-sounding voice. Her tone sounded contrite. “No one is supposed to come out here, we’ll get in trouble if Haggar finds out.”

The man looked down at him with kind gray eyes. “It’s fine Pidge. He won’t be staying here, so Haggar shouldn’t find anything to complain about. If she asks, we can just say that a human strayed too close and the wolves chased him off.”

“Th-thank you,” Keith finally said after the wound were closed. The man held out his hand and pulled him up when he accepted it. “How can I repay you for this?”

The man laughed softly at the question. It wasn’t a mocking or disbelieving laugh however. No, it was one that was filled with a warmth that lightened the prince’s heart. “There’s no need to repay me for what I’ve done, it was what any person would have done if they saw someone in need of help and had healing magics on their side.” A wide smile spread across the man’s face as he let go of his hand. “Just get out of here safely okay? That’s all the repayment I need.”

Keith nodded and set off through. He couldn’t help but notice the man’s right arm seemed to be made of metal.

(When Keith returned to the lake the next day, he found swans instead of people. One of the swans swam up to him and allowed him to stroke the feathers on its head. He couldn’t help but notice it had a metal wing.)

* * *

Prince Keith made it a habit to visit the lake whenever he had the chance every week, hoping for the chance to catch sight of the one who had saved him that night. Whispers spread across his guards and his father’s advisors, and from there to the servants and the townsfolk. Was the prince enchanted by the cursed waters of the lake they wondered?

Those close to him begged and pleaded for him to stay away from the lake, but the prince wouldn’t listen to their concerns. “The lake is cursed,” they told him. “What if some kind of enchantment is being cast over you? What if this is just a trap? Please don’t go.”

“The lake isn’t cursed,” he said back. “There’s no magic or enchantment in the air or water. I have to meet the one who had saved me back then.”

Their eyes were always sad when they replied back, “there is no one in the lake, only the swans.” They were right of course.

Keith always swore softly when he got to the shores of the lake and found a small group of swans instead of the people from that night when he was hurt by bandits. “Where are you,” he would scream across the lake. “Why won’t you meet with me again?” The metal-winged swan would always break away from the group and swim towards him when he cried out. The others would always honk and make noise as the metal-winged one broke away, almost as if the group disapproved of its choices.

“You’re just like me, buddy, aren’t you,” he said to the swan one day as it rested its head across his lap and let him stroke its feathers. “All the other swans are telling you not to visit this stupid human-“ The swan in his lap raised its head to look at him and hissed threateningly. A soft smile spread across his face, apparently the swan had taken as much a liking to him as he did to it. “-okay not stupid-“ The swan rested its head on his lap again. The smile on his face only grew wider. “-human that visits the lake almost every week. Meanwhile, everyone I know is telling me that I shouldn’t be visiting this lake, and I’ll never see him again.” He sighed and looked out across the lake, past the other swans. Keith blinked when he felt something moist and hard against his cheek. He turned and looked into the eyes of the swan as it turned its head away. An amused smile spread across his face. “Did you- did you just kiss me on the cheek?” The swan only honked as it looked right at him and he laughed in response.

“How did you lose your wing, and how did you get it replaced with a metal one?” He asked the swan another day. The swan looked between its wing and him and gave him a mournful look. “Long story huh? Probably not one you want to revisit either.” A soft look formed on his face as the swan looked downwards.

“You know, if you were human I would consider marrying you.” He told the swan on yet another day. The swan only gave him the same mournful look from before and looked away. “You’re a lot nicer and less pushy than the suitors I’ve had recently.” A pensive look spread across Keith’s face. “You know, I might not be able to get married to you, but I don’t think anyone would say no to me having a swan for a pet. So how about it buddy? Want to come home with me?” The swan gave him a tired look and placed its beak on the ground. Keith yelped in surprise when the beak hissed at the contact and smoke began to form. “Hey, what are you- stop that!” He lifted the swan’s beak and sharply inhaled when he saw that it was singed from where it had been in contact with the ground. The swan’s eyes were sad as it peered into his. He got the message. “You can’t leave this place can you? I’m so sorry buddy.” The swan dipped its beak into the waters of the lake. When it lifted its head, he could see that the singed parts were gone.

It was on a night with a full moon, when he was being chased by monstrous dire wolves, that he saw the man who had saved him. “You!” He looked behind him and gave a sigh of relief when he saw the wolves were gone again. “I’ve finally found you again. I almost thought I dreamed you up. How are-“

“You shouldn’t be here,” the man said in a firm tone that held a slight quiver. “If the witch finds you here, she’ll-“

“-the witch? What witch?” A look of fear entered the man’s eyes and Keith took a step forward, his eyes hard with anger. “Is it true what they say then? That there’s an enchantment over this lake and its inhabitants? Who is this witch anyway, what does she have to do with-“ He stopped when he felt a pair of hands, one metal and one flesh, firmly grasp his shoulders.

“The witch Haggar placed a curse upon me and my companions for our defiance against her and her lord Zarkon. The curse forced us to take the shape of swans and only on the night of a full moon over the lake can we return to our original forms. The only way to break the curse is for one of us to fall in love truly with someone and for the other person to do the same.”

Keith felt time slow and the world narrow to the man’s gray eyes and the feeling of his hands on his shoulder. “My mother’s going to be hosting a ball tomorrow for my suitors.” He hesitated for a bit before he continued to speak. “Will the full moon last until then? I don’t-“

A soft smile spread over the man’s face and he nodded. “Yes. Tomorrow will be a full moon as well.”

Keith’s gaze brightened. “Then, I- err, is there a name that I can call you by? It’s a bit awkward referring you as the ‘guy who saved my life’ in my head you know.”

He got a laugh from the man in response. “You can call me Shiro.”

“Shiro.” Keith tried the name and smiled at how right it sounded. “Well, I’m Keith, well technically it’s Prince Keith, but, err, I’ll see you tomorrow then Shiro.  At the ball. I’ll be looking for you.” Shiro only gave the prince a sad smile and waved as he watched the younger man depart through the trees back towards the palace.

“But you won’t be there at the ball Shiro. Doesn’t he realize that you can’t leave this lake?”

Shiro sighed and closed his eyes. Pidge had a point. “I think he does, well, I hope he does. If he doesn’t, well-“ He looked up to the moon above them. “Hopefully Keith isn’t the only guy to find us out here.”

* * *

The night of the ball, the Queen noticed that Prince Keith was anxiously looking amongst the guests for someone. “Are you looking for someone,” she asked her son with a hint of mirth.

“Kind of?” The Queen merely raised an eyebrow as she waited for Keith to elaborate. The prince only looked away nervously. “Um, yeah. I-“ He gulped and looked back towards her cautiously. “Was there a ‘Shiro’ amongst the guests by any chance?” The prince continued to speak as the Queen mentally ran through the guest list. “Um, he’s fairly tall, there’s a scar across the bridge of his nose, and he has gray eyes?”

“Yes, yes, I think there was someone who came with a ‘Shiro’ I believe, she claimed he was her son.” The Queen was thoughtful as she continued to speak. “I believe she’s with him over by that column. I think her name was Haggar.” The prince was already gone by time she had finished her thoughts. She sighed and shook her head with a soft smile. Boys these days. So impatient.

“Shiro?” Keith hesitated in front of the man from the lake and the woman besides him, the one that claimed to be his mother. The price flatly noted her long white hair and the pale red markings on her face. They were unlike anything that he had seen before, and he was having a hard time believing that they were related when he was interrupted by Shiro’s voice-

“Yes Keith, it’s me. I said I would come didn’t I?” The older man’s face broke into a wide smile as he held his hands out for Keith. The prince took it even as he ran the question through his head. Did Shiro promise him that he would come to the ball? The older man never explicitly promised him that as far as he could recall.

“Err, yeah,” the prince agreed hesitantly as he felt himself being lead into a dance. He looked up at Shiro’s eyes and frowned at how hard they seemed. Shiro always seemed slightly sad beneath everything, as if he was hiding a terrible injustice done to him. (Which considering what had happened, probably wasn’t far off the mark.) “Did you get here safely? I was worried that something might have happened to you along the way?”

Shiro seemed surprised and slightly annoyed by the questions. “Yes, why wouldn’t I have gotten here safely? Are the roads of the kingdom not safe? Did you expect us to be taken out by bandits on the way? No one would dare.” The prince frowned slightly at the response. He hadn’t expected Shiro and company to get taken out by bandits actually. An image of a singed beak appeared in his mind and he froze to a stop. Wait, if Shiro couldn’t leave the lake because doing so would kill him- The Shiro in his arms noticed his freeze and blinked slowly as he too stopped. “What’s wrong Prince Keith?” Keith looked at Shiro oddly. Had he ever told Shiro his name? Did Shiro even know who he was. He gulped as the older man leaned in closely. “No matter, won’t you give me a true love’s kiss and break the spell over me and my companions?”

The prince took a step back and wiggled his way out of the other man’s grasp. He would be giving Shiro a true love’s kiss, just as soon as he made sure he had the right guy. “Uh, yeah, true love’s kiss, sure. Just want to check out something first, be back in a bit.” He ducked out of the way of Shiro lunging for him and he could hear the man’s ‘mother’ scream in frustration as he left the palace. Keith frowned as his suspicions only grew, so was the real Shiro at the lake then?

The prince rode the fastest horse from the palace to the enchanted lake, hearing the growls and snarls of wolves behind him the whole time. It was all he could do to keep his horse from throwing him in terror as the wolves snapped at the horse’s leg. He was in a cold sweat by time he reached the waters of the lake, as he had suspected, Shiro was standing at its shores looking sadly at the moon. “Shiro!”

The shirtless man turned to look at him with surprise as the prince slid off his horse and ran to embrace the other man. “I knew that wasn’t you at the ball,” Keith said as he buried his face into the man’s scarred chest. “It wasn’t right. It didn’t seem like you at all. I remembered the incident with your beak and-“ He stopped, realizing he was babbling and looked up at the warm gray eyes that looked down at him in amusement. “-do you really need true love’s kiss to break the spell? Because I can do that right now if that’s what it takes.”

Shiro shook his head. “No, the terms of the spell never said anything about kissing, just affections given and returned.” The man looked at something in the distance. “Give up Haggar. Your plans have amounted to nothing. The feelings between us are true and won’t be reproduced by a spell or duplicity.”

A woman’s voice replied to Shiro from somewhere behind Keith. “That may be so, but that doesn’t mean that either of you two will be getting out of here alive. Hyyaah!” The air around them crackled with a strange power.

Keith acted before he knew what was happening. “Shiro look out!” He shoved the older man as hard as he could into the lake and screamed in pain as he felt a ball of energy come into contact with his back. The prince fell forward, sure that this would be the end of him. His eyes slid to a close and he didn’t seem how the lake water glowed blue or how Shiro’s metal arm glowed purple as he charged at the witch. He could only remember how cool the waters felt over his body, and how the waters seemed to sing when he fell into it.

* * *

When the prince awoke it was in a cabin surrounded by three people he wasn’t familiar with and one face that he was. “Sh-shiro? You’re still alive?”

The lanky one with tanned skin and blue eyes spoke first. “Well, well, well. I don’t know how you did it Shiro, but you managed to seduce someone as a swan. Who knows how that happened. No one ever gave me a second glance when I tried to seduce them as a swan, do you think-“ His rambling was stopped by the short one with glasses sharply elbowing him in the gut. “Pidge! I was just saying.”

“Yeah, well you could stop speaking now, you’re making yourself look like an idiot.” Keith’s face softened somewhat as he heard her speak. It was the voice that Shiro was talking to from the first day. Pidge, he would have to remember that. Pidge turned to face him. “So, how are you feeling? You did take the brunt of one of Haggar’s energy attacks and while you were healed due to magical lake voodoo-“

“-uh, guys maybe we should let him rest a bit,” the third unfamiliar face spoke up nervously. “I mean, it wasn’t like he knew anything about us or Haggar to begin with. This might be a bit overwhelming for him, I know I would be if I was woken up by a bunch of people that I didn’t know at all. Err-“

Shiro chuckled and everyone stopped to look at him. “Hunk has a point, you know. Why don’t you three go check up on Allura and Coran. I think they should be awake by now and Allura did use most of her energy to help us by making the lake you know.” The three looked to each other at the mention of Allura and Coran and then bolted out of the room before Shiro was even finished speaking. Shiro shook his head. “Those three.” Keith could feel bed was resting on dip a bit as the older man sat down next to him. “You feeling okay though?”

Keith smiled as a cool metal hand came to rest on his cheek. “Eh, I’ve had better days, but not terrible, no.” He looked at the metal on his face. “So I believe I asked you how you lost part of your arm and got it replaced with a metal one, but you were a bird back then and birds don’t talk.” Shiro chuckled and nodded in response as Keith ran a hand up the back of Shiro’s metal one and threaded theirs together. “Will you be able to tell me now?”

A bittersweet smile slid over Shiro’s face as he looked off into the distance. “Well, it’s a long story, but I suppose we have time. It started when-“


End file.
